Recovery
by AirJordan8
Summary: After 3 weeks with The Others, Jack returns to camp badly wounded. Kate takes it upon herself to give him a little TLC. There was no skex or Sawyer getting shot on the raft. Hurt/vulnerable!Jack, Jate AU, mild Suliet later on.
1. Chapter 1

_Those of you who know me from my other accounts will know that I rarely ever do multi-chapter stories, but I've decided to give it another shot. If I do continue (and I only will if you guys want it) it will probably be 3 or 4 chapters at most. And you'll probably also know that I, for some unexplainable reason, love to torture my favorite characters. And with the 3rd Hunger Games book coming out soon (the same day as Season 6!), I guess I had torturing in my mind. (Sorry Jack!) As usual, two geniuses named Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse own everything._

_NOTE: The names of the drugs are 100% made up. Well, maybe not 100%. I did Google some things for Rocephin, but Sodium Pentothal was just because it sounded cool and I'd heard it somewhere before._

**...**

4 8 15 16 23 42. Kate hit Execute and the clock flipped back to 108. She rubbed her forehead, cursing the button for what seemed like the 100th time. She hated being on shift, but at the same time she didn't want to find out what happened if the button didn't get pushed. So, she continued to help Locke out, despite Jack's very vocal hatred of the whole situation. She glanced up as the clock flipped to 107 and decided to take a little break in the chair. She'd gotten maybe 2 hours of sleep last night and figured a couple minutes of rest wouldn't hurt.

Kate awoke to the hatch door crashing open and shouting voices bursting though it. She sat up quickly. How long had she been out? The clock now read 23, and Kate inwardly scolded herself for sleeping for so long. The noises grew louder, voices shouting her name. Sayid, Locke and…Juliet? Kate was up in an instant, rushing towards the group. And what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks and stare. It was Jack, limp in Sayid's arms. Blood was covering the Iraqi but Kate couldn't tell where it was coming from. Juliet, Locke and Charlie ran alongside him, Juliet administering medical care and questioning Sayid and Locke while Charlie hovered curiously along the edges, asking questions but getting no responses. Only small phrases drifted into Kate's consciousness. "The Others", "shot in the leg", "broken ribs".

Jack had been taken by The Others 3 weeks ago. Kate had taken off with Sawyer and Sayid, combing the jungle for a week and a half until they'd been forced to return to camp. Once there, Kate and Sayid had been in the process of making an actual plan for getting Jack back, but Locke had insisted they think everything through before racing off into the jungle again. If Kate was being completely honest with herself, she had been getting quite annoyed at Locke's constant thinking. It was slowing her down when all she wanted to do was find Jack and bring him home safe. But none of that was relevant now, because Sayid and Locke had managed to do Just that. They had left 2 days ago to check out a spot where The Others might possibly live, and had not allowed Kate to come. "You need rest", they'd said, "We'll be back soon". But any frustration Kate had towards them had disappeared when she saw Jack in Sayid's arms.

"Kate!" Juliet snapped, bringing Kate back down to Earth. Sayid was now entering the bunk bed room, the other 3 following him closely. Kate rushed over to them, tears filling her eyes. Sayid laid him down on the bed, as lifeless as a rag doll. Kate faintly could hear Charlie being pushed out of the room by Locke, while Sayid answered Juliet's never-ending questions.

"Jack" She whispered, kneeling at his side while the others rushed around, from room to room gathering medical supplies for Juliet and exiling Charlie to button duty. The bleeding was coming from his thigh, Kate could now tell, a bullet wound most likely. She took his hand in both of hers and stroked it.

"He was just sitting in the jungle, barely awake." Sayid was retelling the story to Juliet, who was only half listening. "Juliet!" He shouted to get her attention. Juliet paused and looked up at Sayid, waiting for him to continue. "On the way back, before he passed out, he told me about his injuries. He said he had a few broken ribs, and that his leg needed to be reset-it's broken-, said he needed some drug… Rocephin. He said it was very important that I remember, that he'd die if he didn't get it."

"John, could you get me some Rocephin. It's in the 2nd drawer from the top in the-"

"But, the 2nd drawer had a spill last week. Sodium Pentothal was leaking everywhere. It got into the Rocephin and a few other drugs." Locke explained.

"Shit" Juliet muttered under her breath, all the while attending to Jack's leg.

"What?" Kate asked. "What's Sodium…?"

"Sodium Pentothal. You might know it as "truth serum," Juliet explained quickly.

"No, no, we can't do that to him." Kate was quick to defend Jack, but Juliet shook her head.

"He's right; he needs Rocephin to fight the infection. He'll die, Kate. We don't even know how much spilled. He might not get any, or just a little bit and-"

"And if he does?" Kate asked.

"Then…" Juliet searched for the right words. "He's going to be a little too honest for a day or so."

"No, I'm not letting you do that to him." Kate continued to shake her head stubbornly, the volume of her voice rising as she spoke. "You know that's considered _torture_ in most countries! We're not-"

She was cut off by a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Kate, I agree with Juliet. We need to do what's best for him, even if it means giving him a little truth serum." Sayid told her in his calm, accented voice.

Locke, who had remained fairly quiet during this argument, spoke up. "They're right. Kate, we don't have any other choice."

Kate opened her mouth to speak but they were all interrupted by a moan from Jack. Instantly, Kate and Juliet were at his side. "Jack? Jack, it's me. It's Kate."

Jack struggled to open his eyes and focus on her. "Kate?" He asked softly.

Before she could answer, Sayid was handing her a wooden stick. "Give him this. Put it in his mouth." Kate looked down at Juliet, who was at Jack's leg now, ready to reset it.

"Jack," Kate said gently, stroking his hair, "Jack, this is going to hurt. So, I need to you bite on this, ok?" She carefully put it into place. But Jack didn't seem to understand what was going on and did not like this new, wood-tasting stick that was being forced into his mouth. Kate took up his hand again, giving it a little squeeze. "Squeeze my hand when it hurts, ok Sweetheart?"

Before Jack had time to respond or even realize what was happening, Kate nodded to Juliet, giving her the OK. Juliet gave his leg a sharp twist and pull and Jack screamed out in pain. Biting down hard on the stick and squeezed Kate's hand so hard she thought it might break; Jack's screams of agony turned into moans of distress as he continued to squirm, his brow furrowed in pain. Kate took the stick out of his mouth and stroked his hair, whispering things to him that the others couldn't hear. Sayid and Locke had retreated to the doorway and now watched the women with Jack. Juliet focused solely on medical care, making sure his leg had been reset correctly and that the bleeding had been stopped. Kate, on the other hand, was intent on making sure he wasn't in too much pain. She continued to hold his hand, while stroking his cheek and hair and telling him that it was going to be okay, that he was home.

After a few moments of this, Juliet was confident that he was okay for the moment and Kate watched as Jack fell back into unconsciousness. "John, go get the Rocephin please." Juliet instructed, glancing at Kate to see if she would argue. Kate opened her mouth to fight Juliet on the issue, but closed it looking at Jack and knowing he would die without the drug, truth serum or not. Locke came back into the room, and he and Juliet injected just enough into Jack's arm. With most of the action over, John returned to the button, sending Charlie back to the beach with Sayid, while Juliet stayed in the hatch just in case. Kate had stubbornly refused to leave Jack's side, so Juliet had brought her a chair and left the two alone.

With Charlie and Sayid returning to the beach, word had spread like wildfire around the camp that their leader had returned, but had been severely injured by The Others. Sayid and Kate, however, were fiercely protective of the unconscious Jack and only let a few people visit at a time. He had been brought in around 9:30am, and the visits had started around 11:00am. But at promptly 5:00pm, the doors to the hatch were closed to the majority of the survivors and Charlie, Juliet and, surprisingly, Sawyer made sure everyone stayed on the beach until news came from the hatch the next day.

After giving up trying to wake Jack for dinner, Sayid at least made sure Kate had eaten before he ate. It had been decided earlier that Sayid, Locke and Kate would stay in the hatch overnight. Juliet had been sent back to the beach to watch the rest of the camp, but not before giving Sayid basic instructions in case Jack woke up. Sayid was on button duty until 2:00am, when Locke would come and take over, for both the button and the responsibility of caring for Jack in an emergency until Juliet could be brought from the beach. Kate, of course, had appointed herself as Jack's personal nurse, and insisted in sleeping at his side "in case he needed anything".

Sayid knew that they hadn't taken their relationship to this level yet, in fact he knew that they weren't in a relationship at all. However he was close to both of them, Jack specifically, and knew how they felt about each other even if neither of them would admit it. So, he hadn't argued when Kate had decided she was going to "watch" Jack all night. "Just make sure you get some sleep yourself, Kate. You won't be any help to him if you're exhausted."

"I will Sayid, I promise," she assured him.

It was a few hours later when he heard from Jack and Kate next. It was around 1:00am and they had been quiet all night, that is until Sayid was woken not by the button, but by Kate's worried voice calling his name. He rushed into the room, where Jack lay squirming in pain as Kate tried in vain to calm him. "What happened?" Sayid asked, giving Jack a quick check.

"I-I don't know, he just woke up complaining about his leg." Just before she got out the word "leg", Sayid's hand grazed his bullet wound, checking for further damage. Jack sucked in a quick breath in pain and reached to push Sayid, who had already removed his hand, away. "He needs some pain killers or something." Kate said, her tone becoming more panicked as she rummaged through the drawers of medical supplies, which had been moved to Jack's room.

"I will get them." Sayid said calmly, gently pushing Kate away from the medical supplies and getting the pills himself. "Sit him up," he instructed while getting Jack a glass of water. When he returned, Jack was leaning against Kate and shaking. He was running a fever, Sayid knew before Kate had time to tell him that Jack was burning up. "This will help the fever as well as the pain." Sayid stuck the pills in his mouth and tried to pour the water in. "Swallow, swallow," Sayid told him firmly. But Jack stubbornly spit everything out, his medical degree obviously forgotten for the moment.

Sayid swore under his breath but Kate calmly turned to Jack, stroking his hair and holding his head against her body. "Jack, I know it hurts but you've got to take these. It will help you, I promise. Trust me, Sweetheart, and take these please," she pleaded with him and Sayid handed her the pills and water. Kate gently placed the pills in his mouth again, whispering in his ear to swallow, and gave him a drink of water. Jack wordlessly swallowed the pills and Sayid took the water back, setting it on the table. "Good, Jack, thank you." Kate whispered to him before laying him back down.

He squeezed his eyes shut and continued to fidget. Kate looked worriedly at Sayid, silently asking when Jack would be out of pain. "It could take up to 30 minutes."

"30 minutes?" Kate exclaimed. "What do we do until then?"

"Just make him comfortable. That's all we can do." Sayid remained composed, even as Kate began pacing the small room.

"Kate," Jack moaned.

Kate instantly stopped her pacing and went to his side. "What is it?"

"My leg…my leg is on fire," he explained weakly.

Kate chewed on her lip as she wracked her brain for ways to help him. "I know. What about if we got you a cool towel? Would that help?" Jack nodded. That was all the encouragement Kate needed. "Sayid, could you-"

"Yes," Sayid answered before she could even finish her question, rushing off to fetch what she needed.

Kate noticed Jack was gripping the side of the bed and eased his hand off the wooden frame, replacing it with her hand. "Here you go; you squeeze my hand when it hurts." She brushed the back of her other hand across Jack's cheek, getting a feel for just how high his fever was. She guessed it must be 101 at least, maybe 102. Jack then clamped down on her hand, turning his head as another wave of pain washed over him. Ignoring the pain in her hand, she brushed his hair back and leaned in closer to him. "Shhhh…it's okay, it's okay…it will be over soon, Sweetheart" And after a few seconds longer, he relaxed again, releasing his tight hold on her hand but keeping it in his.

His eyes flickered open and he brought his gaze up to her. "Kate."

"Yes? I'm here." She cooed, not even noticing Sayid entering the room.

"It hurts, Kate," he moaned, one of his hands hovering over his leg wound but not daring to touch it.

"I know, Jack, I know. We gave you some pain killers but it could take a while to kick in."

Sayid interrupted them by setting a bucket on the ground next to Kate. "There are two cloths in here. I brought the bucket of ice water so you could dip them back in if they get too warm."

"Thank you, Sayid. As nice as Hurley and John are, I'm really glad it's you that's down here," Kate told him sincerely.

"You don't have to thank me Kate. I want him to get better just as badly as you do. Now, are you going to be okay in here alone? I'll be in the computer room, but if you want me to stay…" He trailed off, leaving it up to her.

Kate shook her head. "No, I think I can handle it."

"Okay. Just call if you need me," Sayid assured her, leaving the room with the door open a crack so he could hear them if there was a problem.

With Sayid gone, Kate reached into the bucket and pulled out a cloth. She squeezed some of the excess water from it and carefully placed it over Jack's wound. The cool water on the wound that felt like it was on fire was like heaven to Jack, who instantly relaxed and sighed in relief. Kate smiled, happy that she was at least able to take a little bit of the pain away. "You like that, huh?" Jack nodded, and Kate placed another on his blazing hot and sweaty forehead, causing him to relax even more and finally notice his surroundings. "Tell me if either of them gets too warm, I can dip them back in the water for a few seconds." Jack watched her silently, and Kate smiled at him when she realized he was more interested in watching her than listening to what she was saying.

But even if she wouldn't admit it, she loved the attention. So she placed a quick kiss on his forehead as she got up to dry her hands. Turning back around, she teased him. "You still awake over there?"

If Jack did hear her, he didn't let it on. "You're still here," he stated.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She asked, sitting back down in her chair.

"Well, Sawyer-"

She cut him off with a shake of her head. "Jack," she took a deep breath, not even knowing where to start. "I thought I was in love with him. But I was wrong, okay?" She said simply. She wasn't even sure he could pay attention to her words in his state, let alone remember this when it was all over.

"Okay," he agreed. So maybe he was listening. He winced involuntarily.

"Do you want me to change them?" She asked. He nodded and she did as she said she would, dipping the cloths into the water and then gently placing them back onto his leg and forehead. When she was done, he unexpectedly grabbed her hand, holding it tightly. "What's wrong?"

He looked straight into her eyes. "I don't wanna be alone, Katie."

Katie. It was the first time anyone had called her that in a very long time. It didn't take her long to decide that she liked it. "You're not alone, Jack. I'm here."

"Just-just don't leave," he begged.

Just the vulnerable look in his eyes made her heart want to break. "Jack...what did they do to you?"

He immediately broke the eye contact and pulled his hand away, and that scared her. "No." His tone was stubborn but she knew he had some truth serum in his system, that if she wanted, she could probably get it out of him.

But she couldn't take advantage of him like that. "Okay, you don't have to talk about it. But when you're ready, I'll be here." Then his eyelids started to droop and she knew the medicine had kicked in. "Jack, I've been sleeping here with you, to make sure you were okay during the night. But I can stop if you want. Is that what you want?"

He shook his head fiercely. "Stay," he commanded. She complied without argument. In fact, as much as she hated this whole situation, she loved the fact that he wanted _her_ there, that he had asked for _her_ on the way back. She crawled into bed with him and the two silently dropped off to sleep.

**...**

_If you want me to continue, please review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Ok so I went to look at the story traffic yesterday afternoon and guess what! On Saturday, exactly 108 people viewed this story, and on Sunday? At that time anyways, it was at 42! And, well, if you're in this section of the site, I probably don't have to explain anything else. Ahhh I miss Lost._

_Anyways, thank you all for all your amazing reviews. I love you all. And as usual, I don't own Lost. Oh and a warning: this is the torturing chapter for Jack and Kate. After this, I promise I will be nicer to them._

When Kate opened her eyes and went to snuggle up closer to Jack, she was met with only blankets. Jack was gone. She was instantly awake, and in a panic. His leg was badly hurt, where the hell was he? He couldn't have gone far, not with Sayid or Locke outside, could he? "Jack?" There was no answer. Kate could feel her heart rate skyrocket as she jumped out of bed and hurried out of the room. "Jack!"

But instead of Jack, Locke appeared in the doorway to the living area. "Its okay, Kate-"

"Where's Jack?" She demanded.

"He's right here; he's with Juliet and me. We're just giving him some breakfast." Locke said calmly, and motioned towards the table.

Kate rounded the corner quickly and let out a breath she didn't know she'd even been holding when she spotted Jack. He sat at the table across from Juliet, who was laughing at something he'd said, happily chewing his cereal. "Jack," she breathed, rushing over to him, "you had me worried there for a minute." She grabbed his head and kissed the top of it before taking a seat next to Juliet. Locke poured her some cereal as he sat down next to Jack to eat his own. Kate thanked him before turning to Jack. "How long have you been up?" Jack just shrugged so she turned to Locke with a questioning look.

Locke thought for a minute, watching Jack. "Not long, half an hour at the most. He woke up himself and I figured I should give him breakfast while he was up. Juliet and Sayid only arrived about 10 minutes ago." Kate glanced over and realized for the first time that Sayid was standing across the room, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed and watching them intently.

"We thought it would be best for you to catch up on some sleep," Juliet added.

Kate nodded. Maybe Jack being up without her wasn't a complete disaster after all. "How's your leg?"

Jack shrugged again. "Locke gave me some pills and it's not so bad now." His tone was happy, relaxed, and not like himself. Kate knew it was because of the drugs he'd been given, but she couldn't help but find it cute how carefree and almost childlike he had become. "Locke even gave me his old crutches, see?" Kate nodded and glanced at the crutches leaning against the wall before he continued. "And then Julie came down and had breakfast with me. And she told me about the things that happened while I was gone."

"Yes, we were all worried about you, Jack. You're very sick." Kate told him, not missing the fact that he had called Juliet "Julie". It was just a nickname, she told herself. The friends that she'd made at the beach called her "Julie" too. Like Sun and Sawyer, who she hadn't gotten along with at first but were now pretty close with her. Still, Jack using the nickname unnerved her, sending jealousy coursing through her veins. She forced the feeling away, telling herself it was juvenile to get so worked up over a silly nickname.

Jack took another bite of cereal and chewed quickly before continuing. "But I'm getting better," he argued.

"But remember I told you, Jack? That the only reason you feel so good right now is because John gave you some pain medication. You still need lots of rest." Jack frowned into his bowl, mad for only a minute before going on chattering about his time with Juliet and Locke, as well as asking about the people at the beach.

"He's very talkative this morning," Juliet whispered to Kate as John was answering one of Jack's continuous questions.

"You know why that is," Kate shot back quickly and quietly, annoyance creeping into her tone.

"Don't pretend you don't think it's cute, Kate," Juliet told her. Kate only flashed her a warning glance in response, and Juliet didn't take it any further.

Glancing back over at Sayid, Kate noticed he was still observing them. She excused herself and went to join him, knowing that he had experience with truth serum. Once at his side, Kate wasted no time getting right to the point. "How much do you think he got?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out. I've been watching him for some time now. I would say he received about half of what he would be given by someone trying to get information from him."

Kate glanced back over at Jack, who was smiling with Juliet and John. "What does that mean?"

"It means it could be much worse. He's going to be very talkative and saying things he wouldn't usually say, but he does still have a choice. If he doesn't want to tell you something, he'll resist…though you could probably make him talk if you questioned him for long enough." Sayid explained, conveniently leaving out his other observation. He'd noticed that Jack was more prone to do, well, whatever he wanted, especially around Kate. If he wanted to hold her hand, he would, and Sayid had no doubt that if he ever got the urge to do something like kiss her, he would without hesitation. But Sayid decided to leave this part out, so that Kate wouldn't be expecting anything from him, or think that it was just the drugs that caused Jack to show affection towards her.

"What about the people at the beach? What do we tell them? I mean, can they see him?" Kate asked, just as Juliet was walking up to them. John shot them a look that told them they would have to repeat the conversation later to him, but he stayed with Jack. It was weird, the trio thought, to see them getting along so well. It was no secret that Jack and Locke bickered about just about everything, but now they sat together eating breakfast and talking like old friends.

"We'll just conveniently leave the truth serum part out." Juliet chimed in.

Sayid nodded. "We tell them that he's very sick, and we set regulations for seeing him. They'll have to accept it, just for a couple days until he's off the Rocephin."

"That's actually what I came to talk to you two about," Juliet clarified. "Back with The Others, we used this drug before. I'm not sure how much experience the two of you have with it, but it's very strong. Many of our patients would have little or no memory of the time that they were on it."

Kate sighed. This drug was looking worse and worse by the second. First, it had hints of truth serum in it, and now Jack might not even remember any of this? "Maybe it's for the best, Kate," Sayid encouraged her. "All this pain that he's been in, he won't have any memory of it."

"Besides, we don't even know if he will or not. Some did, some didn't. We'll just have to wait and see."

"But until then, we keep it quiet down here," Kate told them. It wasn't a question. "I don't want Frogurt coming down here and Jack accidently telling him how he lost his virginity."

Sayid and Juliet grinned at the mere thought of this, but nodded in agreement. By now, Jack was giving them glances that said he didn't like that they were leaving him out of whatever they were talking about. So, their overall plan for at least the next few days figured out, the group dispersed.

******...**

Jack sleeping schedule for the rest of the day was erratic and random. The Rocephin that was helping his body fight the infection from the bullet wound was also making him incredibly tired. He would wake up for a few hours and then go back to sleep. However, the people at the beach were getting fed up with the group that was allowed to see Jack whenever they wanted. Rumors were flying about what was really going on in the hatch, which had been closed off for the most part. Even people who had been in it before were now finding themselves spending more and more time on the beach. But it wasn't Jack people were getting frustrated with. It was mainly Kate, Sayid, Locke and Juliet who they blamed for not being able to see their leader. Some had started up with the "we're never included" complaints again, accusing the group of forming a clique. However, they simply ignored the comments, and continued with their strict rules for seeing Jack. You had to be in a group of only a few people, you had to be brought to the hatch by Sayid, Locke or Charlie and finally, Kate would be in the room the entire time you were with Jack. Most of the survivors thought this was all overkill, but the small group who knew about the truth serum knew that this was for the best. If Jack started talking too much, Kate would be there to quiet him before he said something he would later regret.

He'd also been having what Sayid and Juliet called "episodes". These only happened in-between doses of painkillers. Since the pills were so strong, they were only allowed to give him one dose every 6 hours so at the end of those 6 hours, or sometimes a little bit earlier, it was extremely painful for him. Some were worse than others, but for Kate, every one was unbearable. With the weak ones, he might only need the wet cloths to be comfortable. But with the bad ones, he would become unreasonable and difficult no matter what they tried to do, screaming in pain every few minutes until they could give him more pain meds. It was a particularly bad one, the worst it had ever been, and it would still be a good half an hour before the 6 hours was up. They'd halted all visits, and Kate, Sayid and Juliet were desperately trying to calm him.

Locke stood back, watching the scene and trying to block out Jack's horrifying screams. After about 10 minutes of this, Sayid was ready to quit. "There's nothing we can do. We're just going to have to wait another 20 minutes, until we can give him another dose."

"So, what? We just let him scream?" Juliet asked incredulously.

"Have you got a better idea?" Sayid challenged, and Juliet massaged her temples. As far as they were able to tell, the pain would come in waves. For a few minutes, he would be silently squirming in discomfort, then he would unexpectedly erupt into screams for 20 seconds or so, and it would repeat. It was the cries that really got to them, sounding to Sayid eerily like the sounds his former torture victims would make. For Juliet and Locke, it was simply disturbing to hear Jack in such agony. But for Kate, it was unbearable. It had become very obvious to the other 3 that she was incapable of seeing Jack in any sort of pain. So, when he burst into another set of screams, she promptly burst into tears. Jack was oblivious to the world around him when he was in this state, so he probably had no idea he was accidently causing her such pain. Either way, Kate had been escorted out of the hatch by the other three. She had refused to go any further than the door, though, and had sat there with John until Juliet came out to tell her it was over.

******...**

After that one, they seemed to weaken. But despite the improvement, the mere possibility of an episode significantly reduced the amount of time left for visits, as they didn't want anyone in there when one happened. But while they could predict about when an episode would occur, the nightmares were unavoidable. And, Sullivan and his wife saw first hand why Kate always had to be around. One second, Jack was lying there peacefully and the next, he was tossing around, brow furrowed. "Is something wrong with him?" Sullivan asked nervously.

Kate remembered what Jack had said about the man being a hypochondriac as she went over to him. "No, he's just having a nightmare," she assured the worried man. Kate shook Jack, gently calling his name until he woke with a terrified expression on his face. Sullivan and his wife continued to question her, asking "should we get Juliet?" and "are you sure it isn't serious?" She assured them that she was sure as she rubbed his back soothingly.

"How can you be so sure? You're not exactly a doctor," his wife accused.

By now, Kate had had it with these people. What gave them the right to come down here and question her? They were lucky to even be allowed into the hatch. And had either of them actually had a real conversation with him? "What, you think I don't know how to handle a damn nightmare? How about you try sitting down here while he screams in pain, then you can come in and give me advice," Kate shouted at her. And before either of them could retaliate, she shouted Sayid's name, nodding at him when he entered as a sign to take them away. The two were quickly whisked out of the hatch, the bedroom door closed behind them. Once they were gone, Jack scooted further into Kate's arms, laying his head on her shoulder. When his breathing had returned to normal, he turned his head to look at the closed door. "Who was that? Why were you mad at them?"

Kate shook her head. "Oh, they were just some visitors. I was mad because they thought they knew how to care for you better than I did." She paused for a moment before asking, "You think I do an okay job, don't you Jack?" Remembering Juliet's words about not remembering any of this, she'd decided it was okay to speak her mind around him. After all, in a few days time, she would be the only person on this Earth who remembered these conversations, right?

"Yes," he answered honestly, "I like having you around, Katie. You're my favorite on this whole island." She giggled. This was not like Jack at all, but she had to admit she was enjoying his constant honesty, even if it made her feel guilty for letting them give him the truth serum in the first place. They had to give him more Rocephin every morning for 4 days, he'd insisted. This was the 2nd day and she was going to glad when it was all over, though she had to admit she was enjoying this new-and childishly adorable-Jack as well.

"What's funny?" He wanted to know.

"Nothing," she assured him. He accepted this answer so she continued. "Why am I your favorite?" She knew it was childish of her to ask this, but she couldn't resist.

He thought about this for a minute. "Because I like you."

She was glad he couldn't see her face with his head on her shoulder, because she was grinning like someone had just told her they were being rescued. She wanted so badly to tell him exactly how cute he was being right now, but she knew that would only earn her an accusation of treating him like a baby, so she settled for kissing the top of his head. "You do, huh?"

"Yes. I like you. Only you."

Now her eyes were welling up with tears. She bit her bottom lip and buried her face in his short hair to whisper to him, "I like you too, Jack."

"And Sawyer," he corrected her matter-of-factly.

She was a little hurt that he would even think that, but was quick to recover. "No, Jack, not Sawyer."

Now he lifted his head in surprise, giving her a confused look. "Not Sawyer?" He repeated.

She shook her head. "No, only you," she responded, reiterating his words from earlier. Then he surprised her again by leaning in and giving her a quick peck on the lips before laying his head back down. "What was that for?" She asked.

"I don't know," he replied honestly.

She felt him yawn against her and knew this conversation was over. "Go to sleep, Jack," she ordered. And she started gently scratching his back and stroking his hair again to relax him. It worked, and within a minute or so, he was sound asleep against her. But she continued working against his back and hair, just slowing and softening her movements. She would never tell anyone, but the continuation of these little actions was more for her than him.

_I always find it entertaining when old stories tell you to "hit the purple button". I wasn't on this site when there was a purple button, but please leave a review anyways._


	3. Chapter 3

_Ugh I hate writing Sawyer in Word. So many red and green squiggly lines! Anyways, the next chapter is going to be the last one. But I love drugged Jack too much for my own good, so if you have any specific ideas for scenes with truth serum!Jack and Kate, tell me and I could add them on later as missing moments or something. Anyways, I got Season 6 the day it came out and I was feeling Lost-deprived so I watched LA X and What Kate Does. Man, I'd forgotten how sad Juliet's death was! And that scene with Sawyer throwing the ring into the ocean? I was crying like a baby. So, there's some Suliet in this chapter._

_One more thing. Well, two. 1. It's an AU story, so I've made them be on the island for longer, maybe 6 months and 2. Surprise! Darlton owns (own?) Lost._

They had been in this position about 10 minutes, giving Kate time to adjust them both so she was more comfortable, when Sayid came back in. "How is he?"

"He's better," she answered, watching the man sleeping in her arms for a moment.

"Was it a bad one?" Sayid asked.

Kate shook her head. Jack had had far worse than his last one. "He dropped right back to sleep after they left."

"You're very good with him, Kate," Sayid praised. "He was asking for you the entire time we walked back."

"He was?" Kate asked, raising her head hopefully.

Sayid nodded. "I could hardly get him to tell me the extent of his injuries." Kate struggled to hide a smile before Sayid continued. "Claire just came down. I would have told her that it wasn't a good time, but I know you two are close…"

"Yes, thank you Sayid. You can send her in," Kate told him. Sayid nodded and left silently. A few moments later, Claire entered, her face softening when she saw the two curled up together on the bed. Kate was still sitting with Jack's head nestled in her neck and she wondered for a second if she should have put him back down on the bed, but quickly shook the thought. She was enjoying this position as much as he was.

"How's my big brother doing?" She cooed, leaning over and stroking the back of his head. They'd found out about their relationship by accident, about a month before Jack had been taken. It was strange for them both at first, but they've adjusted well and Kate knew they both liked the idea of having a sibling more than they showed.

"He's much better," Kate assured her as she went to sit in Kate's usual spot: the chair beside the bed. Claire started to ask what happened but Kate cut her off, holding Jack closer without even noticing she was doing it. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Claire sighed. "Kate, what's been going on down here? There have been more rumors than about Sawyer and Juliet!"

This caught Kate's attention. "Sawyer and Juliet? What about them?"

"I don't know, I don't think anyone knows."

"Well what have you heard?" Kate questioned.

Claire shrugged. "Just that they've been hanging out a lot lately. Same thing as you and Jack."

"What have they said about Jack and me?"

Claire could see that Kate was getting annoyed, not at her but at the constant gossip going around about her and Jack. "That he's really sick, he's been drugged up for days, that you and Sayid and Juliet and Locke are covering something up…" Claire stopped when she saw the look on Kate's face and repeated her earlier question. "What's going on down here?"

"You promise you won't tell?" Kate asked.

"I promise." Claire knew that this would earn her a spot on the list of people "covering something up" if anyone found out, but Kate was her best friend.

Kate looked down at Jack and held his head closer. She'd been stroking his hair and scratching his back since Claire walked in, but she seemed to be concentrating more on them now. "We gave him truth serum," Kate admitted.

"You what?" Claire was sure she'd heard wrong.

"We didn't have a choice," Kate explained quickly. "He needed the Rocephin or he'd die, but the truth serum leaked last week and there was a little bit in there-"

"Did you-"

"Yeah, we knew." Kate paused, looking up at Claire. "I didn't want to do it, I didn't. But he was going to die, Claire. And I…I couldn't let that happen."

Claire rubbed Kate's shoulder soothingly. "I know Hon. You guys didn't have a choice."

Kate's head snapped back up to look Claire in the eyes. "You can't tell anyone at the beach."

"Don't worry, I won't." Claire now leaned back in her chair and grinned. "So. When are you going to tell him?"

Kate had an idea of who they were talking about, but decided to play innocent. "Tell who what?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "Tell Jack," she said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but Kate wasn't catching on. "That you love him!" She exclaimed, exasperated.

"Claire!" Kate whisper-yelled, leaning forward carefully to make sure Jack was still asleep. He'd been known to wake up but stay frozen in the same position. She then looked frantically at the door, thanking a God that she wasn't so sure she believed in that it was closed.

"Relax. He's asleep. No one can hear us," Claire assured her.

"You don't know that, he likes to…" Kate trailed off when she saw the smirk on her friend's face. "What?"

"You're so in love him. I know it. Don't worry, he's totally in love with you too," Claire said confidently. Kate just stared at her so she continued. "Kate, I'm not an idiot. This is _Jack_ we're talking about. Hero, doctor, leader Jack who hardly ever sleeps because he's so busy helping people. And you know he doesn't like to show emotion around other people. And yet here he is with you, letting you console him after he's had a nightmare, whisper little things to him and hold his hand when he's in pain and rock him like a baby." Kate hadn't even noticed she'd been rocking him slightly, but she stopped immediately. "It's okay, you don't have to stop. It's what you do when you're in love. And you, you've been down here, in the hatch. _The hatch_, Kate. You hate it down here. But you've been cooped up in here for days because of _him_. You've been worried sick about him; you monitor everything that goes on down here because it might affect him in the slightest way-"

Kate shook her head. "No, that part doesn't count. You don't know how bad it gets."

"How bad what gets?" Kate waved off her question. "Ok. I don't know how bad "it" gets. But I do know one thing, Kate, and that's that you're 100% in love with Jack. Admit it."

Kate's eyes were filled with tears now, just thinking of that morning, when she had been exiled from the hatch because she couldn't handle Jack's screams. "I don't know what I'm going to do," Kate said quietly. "I've been in love before, Claire, but this is different. This is…I don't even know. It's more…" She searched for the right words "intense. It's like I can't get him out of my head, even for a second. And the idea, just the thought, of him being in pain is…I just can't handle it. Earlier-"

She cut herself off, but Claire encouraged her. "Its okay, Kate, you can tell me."

So Kate continued. She didn't want to admit it but she liked having a girlfriend to talk to. "Well, he has these episodes where, well I don't really know what they are exactly but the infection takes over and he's in a lot of pain when they happen. He says his leg is on fire and he's just…you can't even talk to him. Some aren't so bad, and we can soothe him. But some are really bad, Claire, you can't even imagine."

Kate stopped talking for a moment, placing little kisses on Jack's head, so soft Claire wasn't even sure if she realized she was doing it. "What happened earlier?" She asked gently.

"Earlier, he had a really bad one. It was the worst it's ever been. But we couldn't give him more pain meds for half an hour; because it could hurt his liver or he could even OD they're so strong. Nothing we did was working at all, and they said there was nothing we could do for him, that we just had to…let him _scream_." Tears started to leak from Kate's eyes and fall into Jack's hair. "And he was screaming, Claire, like he was being tortured. He probably was." She wiped her eyes and Claire watched curiously as, the more upset Kate got, the more she would try and console a peacefully sleeping Jack. It was as if she was trying to make him feel better, so that she would too.

"Its okay, Kate, he's going to be just fine. Obviously you guys did something right, look at him now. He's perfectly fine," Claire reminded her. Once Kate's cheeks were dry, Claire returned to her previous topic of conversation. "You've gotta tell him."

"No, not now. Juliet said he might not even remember this when he gets better."

Claire decided to make a compromise. "Then when he's better. The minute he's off those drugs, you tell him. Promise?"

Kate was silent for a moment before replying. "Ok, I promise."

"I have to get back to Aaron; I told Charlie I wouldn't be long. Tell him I came to visit when he wakes up," Claire instructed as she stood up to leave.

"Okay. I'll see you later Claire."

"Don't forget your promise!" Claire called back to Kate as she walked away.

**...**

Jack slept peacefully in Kate's arms this time, his previous nightmares non-existent. Kate wasn't even sure how much time had passed when he lifted his head from where he had buried it in her neck. Kate had been so deep in thought, mindlessly running her fingers through his hair as she thought about what Claire had said. Or, more specifically, the promise she'd made to Claire. So, when he asked her how long he'd been out, she wasn't quite sure how to respond. Looking at the clock that they kept next to the bed, it struck her that they'd been sitting there nearly 3 hours, much longer than Jack's usual hour and a half naps. And once that registered, it dawned on her that his next episode had been due over an hour ago. Yet, he pushed himself away from her and sat up, rubbing his eyes without any sign of being in pain. She let her hand fall from his head as she spoke gently to him. "Did you have a nice nap?" He nodded, smiling at her as if he had his own little joke. She couldn't help but smile back. "What?"

"I had a nice nap because I had a nice dream," he told her matter-of-factly.

"What was it about?"

"You," he looked up and flashed her that sweet, innocent smile that made her heart melt.

Kate grinned as she beckoned him forward. "C'mere" When he leaned in closer, she gave him a little kiss on the lips, keeping it simple until he was fully healthy again. "I'm glad you're feeling so good," she whispered, kissing the tip of his nose before backing away and grabbing his crutches. "Come on, let's go get some dinner."

He looked disappointed that she was no longer so close to him, but he did what she said and the two went out to see what was going on in the other parts of the hatch. Kate wasn't feeling particularly hungry, so she had a quick snack and left Jack to finish his dinner with Juliet and Sawyer, who Juliet brought into the hatch with her tonight, while she took a shower. Kate hadn't been out of the hatch for a few days now, excluding the time she spent with John sitting right outside the hatch door, but she was beginning to believe the rumors Claire had told her regarding Sawyer and Juliet. She hadn't talked to either of them about it; in fact she hadn't talked to either of them about anything but Jack in a while. But they were clearly closer than she remembered them being before, and Juliet was now using her spot in the small group that was allowed free access to the hatch to bring Sawyer with her. But more surprising to Kate than their potential relationship, was the fact that she wasn't at all jealous. Yes, she'd once had feelings for Sawyer, but the fact that he might be involved with another woman didn't bother her at all. On the other hand, Jack saying the word "Julie" made her want to take Juliet to Hydra island and leave alone, with all the boats.

Kate slammed her hand down on the shower controls and flow of hot water abruptly stopped. Grabbing a towel, she quickly dried off and got dressed. She'd been in the shower longer than she'd planned, enjoying the relaxing feel of the hot water washing over her. But now she was itching to get back to Jack, Claire's words still echoing in her head_. "You're so in love with him."_ Kate forced the feelings down as she walked out of the steamy bathroom. As Juliet, Sawyer and Jack came into view, she decided to hang back and observe for a minute. She wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but the three were sitting at the table with their food in front of them. However, they didn't seem to be eating much as Juliet and Sawyer were holding back laughs while Jack told them something.

"And you're sure those drugs haven't gone to your head, Doc?" Sawyer asked, and it seemed to Kate like it wasn't the first time he'd questioned Jack about his claims, whatever they might be.

"Yes! You can even ask her!" Jack exclaimed. Her? Now Kate was really interested.

"So, after that, what happened?" Sawyer asked.

Juliet was giggling now. She slapped Sawyer's arm playfully. "James, stop it!"

The boys ignored her. "Then she kissed me," Jack said nonchalantly. Juliet and Sawyer burst into laughter, Sawyer accusing Jack of making up stories again while Juliet stifled her laughter and tried without success to get Sawyer to do the same. "I'm not lying! She did, right on the mouth!"

This comment only caused more snickers from Sawyer and Juliet, who were both enjoying this far too much. "And I can ask her about it?" Sawyer asked.

"Sure," Jack confirmed. "I don't care."

"I think I'm gonna havta take ya up on that, Doc"

"James, cut it out. She'll kill us both, you know that, right?"

Sawyer ignored her comment and turned back to Jack, who was silent. "So then what, Doc? Aren't cha gonna tell us the rest?"

"Then she told me that she was glad that I was feeling okay and-"

"What is going on out here?" Kate demanded to know, cutting him off as she approached the table. Sawyer and Juliet instantly quieted, leaving only smirks on their faces.

Jack took the last bite of his dinner and looked up at her innocently. "Nothing, I was just having dinner with Sawyer and Juliet."

Kate nodded. "Sure you were," she said sarcastically.

"How long you been spyin on us, Freckles?"

"Long enough to know that I'm not answering any of your questions." She pulled Jack up with her. "C'mon. That's the last time I leave you with Sawyer." She told him, half joking. Deep down, Kate found the whole situation just a little bit amusing.

_Embarrassing enough? Tell me what you thought._


	4. Chapter 4

_Last chapter! I know this was a short story, but I usually stick on one-shots only so I didn't wanna jump right into a 50 chapter story. But since this is the last chapter, I made it the most jateful. Keep in mind what I said last time about the missing moments and enjoy!_

_Guess what. I don't own Lost, or Jack or Kate. Not even Craig. He was on the list of Oceanic 815 Survivors from Lostpedia._

"You think he's got the balls to tell her?" Sawyer turned to Juliet.

"James, we shouldn't have done that." She told him matter-of-factly.

"Just calm down, Blondie. He started it," Sawyer said, sounding to Juliet like a 5-year-old. She gave him a stern look and wordlessly reminded him what she'd confided in him earlier about the truth serum. "Yeah, I know what ya told me but it'll be fine. Trust me, by tomorrow, they'll be back to their lovey-dovey selves." Sawyer took another sip of his DHARMA beer.

"How can you be so sure?" Juliet asked.

Sawyer just stared at her, silently asking her if she was serious. When she just stared back, he shook his head and chuckled. "Ya obviously haven't been here long, Blondie."

Back in the bedroom, Kate handed Jack his water bottle and watched him drink. He soon noticed her look and raised his gaze. "What?"

Kate sighed. "How much did you tell them, Jack?"

"Sorry, I didn't know you'd be mad," he bit his lip nervously, watching her reaction carefully.

She crossed the room to sit next to him on the bed. "I'm not mad, Shep. I just want to know how much you told them," she said gently. He didn't answer, instead he leaned forward and Kate backed away. "Not until you tell me," she teased.

He sighed. "Okay, okay. I told them that you kissed me and some of the things you said to me earlier and yesterday…" His voice trailed off and he broke the eye contact.

"Is that all?"

"No."

"Then what else?"

He lifted his eyes back up, searching hers. "That I'm in love with you."

Kate was frozen in shock for a second, before breaking into a huge grin. With the fact that it was Sawyer and Juliet that he'd admitted this to forgotten, she leaned forward and smashed her lips into his. And with his confession, she'd also seemed to have forgotten her plans to wait until he was better, to wait to tell him until she was sure he would remember. Jack was momentarily shocked at Kate's eagerness, but he quickly recovered, opening his mouth to her when her tongue pleaded for permission. Their tongues danced for a minute, exploring each other's mouths until Kate broke the contact and leaned her forehead against Jack's to catch her breath. Then she slid her hand from his face to around his neck, pulling his close. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist, buried his face in her hair and breathed in that smell that was so uniquely _Kate_. Meanwhile, she brought her lips to hover centimeters away from his ear and whispered, "I love _you_".

It wasn't late enough to go to bed but neither of them really felt like going out and facing Sawyer and Juliet. So, Kate went out and got some snacks from the pantry. Most of the food had been taken to the beach, but Kate took advantage of the good amount of potato chips and Apollo bars left in there. Kate didn't notice, but Juliet received a round of I told you so's from Sawyer as she snuck back into the bedroom with her stash of snacks. Jack was more than happy to have things like chocolate bars after Juliet had been monitoring what he ate for days. He hadn't been eating much, so when he did, he had been given the perfect combination of the 5 main food groups.

They stayed up, Jack sitting on the bed and Kate in the chair, snacking on junk food like teenagers at a sleepover. They discussed pretty much everything, talking and laughing as if they'd known each other their entire lives. Jack got tired pretty quickly, as he was still on the Rocephin, but sleeping didn't look to him nearly as enjoyable as staying up and talking to Kate. So, he took advantage of the fact that Kate seemed to have lost track of time and hid his fatigue pretty well. However, a few hours later, Kate happened to glance at the clock and realized that it was past 11:00pm. She snatched the snacks away from Jack, remembering that the reason she was allowed to stay in his room overnight was to make sure he slept, not keep him up by feeding him sugary snacks. "C'mon, it's time for bed," she told him firmly. He shook his head. "Jack, it's late. Please?" She gave him a look that she hoped would force him to give in.

"Do I get a kiss if I do?" He asked hopefully.

She smiled. God, he was adorable. "Okay. Just lay down." He didn't want to, but Kate lay down in the bed and Jack couldn't resist letting her snuggle up to him.

He got his kiss and let Kate turn off the lights, but this didn't stop Jack's mind from formulating more questions. "Kate?"

"Yes?"

"Does this make you my girlfriend?"

She sighed, and he could feel her smile against his shoulder. She kissed his cheek before lying back down. "Go to sleep, Jack." He took that as a yes and finally quieted down. Within minutes of silence, both were in a deep sleep.

**...**

She was woken up by the door opening and Sayid stepping in. He seemed surprised. "I'm sorry to wake you; I just assumed you'd be awake."

Jack was already sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "It's okay," he told him. They'd slept in, and it was late enough that Jack should be getting his last dose of Rocephin now. But when she asked about it, Sayid told her that he'd already gotten it.

She figured that Jack must have gotten up earlier, eaten breakfast and then came back to bed with her for a nap. Kate silently wondered how in the world she'd slept through all this, but attributed it to the added stress from the past few days. But before she could ask anyone about it, Sayid continued. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news. Craig was found earlier this morning in the jungle-"

"Do you need the bed?" Jack asked, already ready to jump up and play doctor again.

Sayid shook his head grimly. "The funeral is in an hour." He let the news sink in as the two sat in shocked silence. Neither had been particularly close to Craig, but it was still another one of their own dead.

"How?" Kate asked.

"The monster." It was all he had to say. They both understood what the mysterious cloud of black smoke could do.

"I think Jack could use another day of rest." Jack started to protest Sayid's statement but he quieted when Kate promised that tomorrow, she would bring him down to the beach. "I can stay with him, Kate, if you'd like to attend the funeral."

Kate reacted just as Sayid had predicted she would. "No, that's okay. You go ahead and I'll stay with him."

"Okay then. It will only be for a few hours. Juliet said it would be okay if he went outside for a bit" Jack's eyes lit up at this, glancing at Kate hopefully "but everyone will be at the beach, so don't forget about the button."

Kate nodded and smiled. "Thanks. I think I got it, Sayid," she assured him.

"Okay. I'm going to head down there now, so I'll see you in a couple of hours." They all said their goodbyes and Sayid left. The hatch door banged shut behind him and they were alone.

Jack immediately turned to Kate. "Can we go outside now?"

Kate smiled and kissed his cheek. "Maybe later." She checked the timer and saw that they only had half an hour left before she would have to enter the numbers. So they ate lunch and reset the clock before Kate gave into to Jack's requests to go outside.

"I never thought I'd be happy to see this jungle," he breathed, taking in his surroundings. It was the first time he'd been out of the hatch in nearly 4 full days and, even though he was still on crutches, it was a relief to get out of that hatch. They went to a little stream not far from the hatch exit, and he removed his shoes and socks to dip his feet in the water. The makeshift splint they'd made to keep his broken fibula in place didn't quite reach to his ankles, so he could still get his feet wet. Jack became quiet as he sat on a rock, dangling his feet in the water.

For the past few days, it had been hard to get him to stop talking, so Kate instantly sensed something off. "What's wrong?"

He had begun to take smaller rocks and mindlessly toss them into the stream. "I know why you did it," he stated, not taking his eyes off the water.

"What are you talking about, Jack?" She asked, fear growing in her stomach that he was talking about what she thought he was talking about.

"This morning, it was just Sawyer and Juliet in the hatch. Juliet was in the other room and she couldn't hear us. And Sawyer told me that he knew a secret, but he'd only tell me if I promised not to tell anyone that he was the one who told me. I promised, and he told me about the truth serum." He was quiet for a moment, and Kate's heart rate sped up as she waited to see what he thought about it. "At first, I was mad. But he told me about the spill, and the Rocephin. And now I understand." He unceremoniously picked up another pebble and tossed it, causing a little splash.

"Jack…I am so sorry," she started, guilty tears filling her eyes and threatening to spill down her cheeks.

He turned and looked her in the eyes for the first time. "Its okay, Kate. I would have done the same thing."

There was a little pause as Jack went back to throwing his stones, each landing with a satisfying plop. "Jack…can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he replied casually, not seeming to pick up on Kate's worry or guilt.

"If you knew, why did you let them give you more?" She knew that he usually got the Rocephin _after_ breakfast, which would also be after Sawyer spilled the secrets that he wasn't even supposed to know.

"Because I need it, Kate. I'm a doctor; I know that the infection isn't completely gone yet." He paused. "And because I trust you." She watched him, waiting for an explanation. "I trust that you wouldn't let me do something or say something that I would regret later." She went over, pulled him close and gave him a soft, sweet kiss before the two got up and silently returned to the hatch.

**...**

Later that night, Jack had gone to bed without needing Kate there for the first time, and Kate was still up with Juliet. It was just them, Sawyer and Locke in the hatch now. It was getting late, so Juliet and Sawyer would soon return to the beach while Locke had button duty that night. The boys were in the computer room playing backgammon, so it was just Juliet and Kate doing the dishes from dinner. Despite their previous rivalry, they made a pretty good team, Juliet washing and Kate drying. "Juliet," Kate started as she took another dish from her hand, "do you remember what you said about the Rocephin, about people not remembering things that happened?"

"Yes, what about it?" Juliet asked in that constantly-calm tone she had.

"Do you…do you think that Jack will remember anything?" Kate answered, and Juliet could see that it was something Kate had thought a lot about.

"There's no way to be sure. Can I ask why you're so worried about this?" She studied Kate's expression while she continued to work on the dirty dishes.

Kate sighed, placing another dish to the side. After a pause, she confessed. "He told me that he loved me," she said simply. Juliet opened her mouth to say something, but Kate was faster. "And I told him that I loved him too."

"Well, I've heard that any strong emotion will cause memories to stick in the brain. That's why we remember things that especially scary or exciting for us. The Rocephin might affect some memories, but I'm fairly sure that he couldn't forget something like that. I'm assuming that this was the first time you'd told him?" Kate nodded. Juliet turned and gave her a little smile. "Then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

Kate actually smiled back, a part of her wondering if this was the first time she was truly happy about having Juliet around. "Thanks, Juliet."

**...**

When Jack's eyes flickered open the next morning and he felt Kate sleeping in his arms, he felt as if he was waking up from a coma. The constant fog that he hadn't been able to shake from his brain for the past 4 days was gone. He found himself wishing that Kate would wake up right now so that he could rush down to the beach and catch up with everyone. But looking down at her peaceful, sleeping form, he relaxed and decided not to wake her after all. Instead, he reached down and gently stroked her hair, enjoying the feel of her warm body resting at his side. Jack laid there for a while longer, content to watch the gentle rise and fall of her chest, feel her hot breath against his neck and memorize every detail of her face. He wasn't sure how long exactly it had been when she stirred and moved to rub her eyes. Jack watched in awe as she yawned and stretched before snuggling back up next to him and opening her eyes.

Once she realized he was already awake, she raised her face and placed a trail of soft kisses along his jaw line. He bent his head down and whispered, "Good morning, Sleepyhead."

She smiled and gave him a sloppy, just-woke-up kiss. He didn't mind the laziness at all, ecstatic to simply be able to taste her lips without that constant, drugged feeling clouding his head. "I love you," she told him softly, studying his reaction. It was the ultimate test, the only real way to make sure that the past few days weren't in her mind alone.

He grinned back and placed a kiss on her soft and perfect lips, letting his own linger there for a second longer than he'd planned. "I love you too, Katie."

_Yes, I kill innocent Losties so that I can have more Jate. Just leave one last review, please. I'll love you forever for it._

_Namaste,_

_Jordan_


End file.
